I'm Sorry
by junodog
Summary: So much regret, so much to think about. Edward, Alphonse, and Winry have a different childhood, but the end result is the same. Mangabased.
1. Chapter 1

Yeah, I'm trying something different this time, it's a 'what if' story based on the events in the Elrics' childhood in the manga. It starts off during Ishbal, around the time of the attack on Resembool.

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_I'm sorry, Winry. We shouldn't have left you alone last night. I hope we can make things right._

Ed and Al ran from their home in Resembool to a place near the train station. As quietly as they could, they crept through the town and made their way to a seemingly empty house. Military policemen were standing in front of the house, but the Ishbalans within had a hostage, so they were unsure of what to do.

Ed pulled a piece of chalk out of his pocket and began drawing a circle on the wood as Al kept guard. As he finished, Ed placed a hand on the circle and formed an opening on the wall of the building. He stood in shock as he saw what was within.

Winry was tied to a post in the middle of the room, surrounded by Ishbalans. When they saw the two boys standing just outside, one ran toward them and tackled Ed, pinning him to the ground.

"Brother!" Al shouted as one of the Ishbalans grabbed him as well. The Ishbalan who had grabbed Ed placed the chalk in the young alchemist's hands and pulled him upright.

"Cover that hole. Now."

Ed was shaking as he drew a circle on the ground. He looked around at the people in the room and decided he had to do something. He placed his hand on the circle, and the opening was sealed, leaving the three children alone with the Ishbalans who had planned on attacking the Resembool train station.

They tied Ed and Al with rope and forced them to sit next to Winry. Ed stared at his captors with fury in his eyes. "What are you going to do with us?" he asked.

"If those military men do what we ask them to, then we'll let you go. If not…"

"What?"

The Ishbalans were silent. Ed began to panic. "Are you planning on killing us?" he asked. "Why? What did we do to deserve this?"

"You didn't do anything. It's your country we're fighting against."

"But… it's not our fault! Please, leave us out of this! And if not us, then at least let Winry go. Please!"

"Be quiet!"

Ed looked down at his bound hands. "Please." He had tears in his eyes.

One of the Ishbalans kneeled down in front of Ed. "We know it's not your fault. But then again, it's not the fault of that child who was killed that Ishbalans hate alchemy."

"You mean the child who was accidentally shot?" Ed asked.

"That's right."

"If that's what started all this, then why are you going to kill us? Won't that make you about the same as the people who started this?"

There was a tense silence in the room. The Ishbalans all exchanged glances. Finally, the one who had spoken to Ed spoke again. "I'm giving myself up. There's no way I can kill children."

The other three stared at him. After a moment, one walked up to him and patted his shoulder. "I'm with you."

The other glared at their comrades. "Does it really matter who we kill? They're all Amestrian, after all."

"But if we kill children, then it'll be harder for the rest of Ishbal."

"If we kill them, then they'll finally understand that what they're doing is wrong!" The Ishbalan glared at everyone in the room before pulling out a gun and pointing it at Ed. "This kid, he's about to ruin everything we've planned. I can't forgive him for that."

"What are you doing?"

"I'm getting rid of this brat."

Ed's eyes widened, and he twitched as a gun was fired. It took him a moment to realize that he hadn't been shot. He stared wide-eyed as the Ishbalan who had been ready to kill him fell to the ground, blood dripping from a wound in his chest.

He screamed.

At that moment, the military entered the room, guns pointed at the three remaining Ishbalans. The 'kind' one dropped his gun and held his hands up. The other two quickly followed suit. The three rebels were led out as two military policemen untied Ed, Al, and Winry. Winry and Al were crying. Ed was in a daze.

The three were brought home by one of the policemen, and Pinako began the process of helping the three recover from the horribly scarring incident.

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News of this incident quickly spread through the country, and even through Ishbal. When it reached the ears of a certain doctor couple, Sara Rockbell made the decision to go home. Nobody argued against it, not even the injured Ishbalans she had been treating. She left with the promise to return when she could.

As she arrived at her home, she could see just how damaging the incident had been. She came into a silent building. Ed was trying to get his brother to eat something, and Winry still hadn't gotten out of bed. Sara went to Ed's side and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. She took Ed's place and looked into Al's eyes.

"You really shouldn't do this to yourself. It'll just make you feel worse."

Al looked at the food on his plate and gave in to hunger. Sara watched him for a moment before she realized that Winry was standing at the foot of the stairs, silently watching her.

"Winry…"

Winry didn't move for several minutes. Finally, she let out a sob and fell against her mother, holding on as tightly as she could, and crying. They stood together for a while, mother and daughter, both sharing yet another bond: they both had seen death (because a doctor in a battlefield's got to have seen at least one person die, right?).

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Ed didn't cry. He didn't spend his time hiding away. He didn't lash out at anyone. All he did was live. His movements seemed unnatural, as if a part of him wanted to give up, just stop doing everything while another part of him wanted to continue living. Al found him one day standing on the railing of the balcony.

"Brother, it's dangerous standing up there. You could fall and get hurt."

"Al."

Al started. He hadn't heard his brother's voice for several days now. "What is it, brother?"

"You know how easily I could die?"

"That's why I said you should get down."

"No, that's not what I mean." Ed turned and moved to a sitting position, facing his brother. "Back then, I really thought he was going to kill me. I was scared. I wanted to tell you so many things, but I couldn't. I…"

"I was afraid too, brother. I didn't want to lose you."

"But at the same time, I don't like what happened. I hate the fact that that guy was killed because of me."

"Brother, he was going to kill you! And maybe even Winry and me. He saved your life."

"Even so… I just hate everything that happened. I hate those people. And maybe…" Ed paused, and his voice became barely audible. "I hate Ishbalans."

"Brother…"

Ed jumped off the railing and walked inside. Al followed his brother inside and tried to talk to him, but Ed didn't say a word. He just walked outside, looked around, and ran home.

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"Alphonse?" Al picked up his head and looked up to see all three Rockbell women standing in front of him. "Where's Edward?" Sara asked.

"He went home," Al replied.

"Did you two have a fight?"

"No, not exactly… brother just said some things… that I don't think he wanted to say."

Sara sighed and stood erect. "Then we should go talk to him."

Al stood and followed Sara down the road to their house. He explained what had happened on the way.

"So… I think he hates Ishbalans now."

"But you don't?"

"I don't think so, because even though they attacked us, it's not like they were doing it for no reason. And… you said that the people you were helping were nice, didn't you?"

"That's right. It's good that you think that, Al. Just because a few people hurt you doesn't mean everyone from that race is that way."

"I don't think brother knows that, though."

"That's why we're going to talk to him."

They found Ed curled up in the fetal position in his room, sitting next to the window. Al waited in the hallway as Sara walked up to Ed and sat next to him.

"You know, you can't just sit around and sulk all the time."

"I'm not sulking."

"Really? It sure looks like you are."

"Go away." Ed curled up into a tighter ball just as he felt a tug on his ear. "Owowowowowow let go!"

Sara had grabbed Ed's ear and pulled his head back from his knees. "And what makes you think I'll do that, hmm?" She let go, and Ed rubbed his ear, glaring at Sara. "Look, you've had a hard time, and the only way to feel better is to talk about it. What are you so upset about?"

Ed thought about it for a while before speaking up. "I…" He paused. The words wouldn't come out.

"You told Al you hate Ishbalans, didn't you?"

Ed nodded.

"You don't have any reason to hate them. Just because a couple of people did something to hurt you doesn't mean every single Ishbalan would do the same. And it's not like they wanted to hurt you in the first place."

"One of them did. He tried to shoot me."

"Okay, so one of them was a little extreme. That doesn't make the rest of them extreme. Listen; when I was out there helping them, we met a lot of Ishbalan children, who were about your age. They were just like you in a lot of ways. They wanted to be happy, they didn't want to lose their families, and some of them didn't even have parents. They have it just as hard as you do, if not harder."

Ed began to tremble. Sara placed a hand on his back. "It's okay for you to cry, Edward."

And Ed did cry. He hid his head and sobbed until he ran out of energy. Sara covered him with a blanket and let him sleep. Al worked up the nerve to enter the room and stood at the doorway. Sara smiled and stood up.

"Come on, Al, let's clean this place up some while Ed sleeps."

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Yep, so there'll be about… five or so chapters for this story.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter two… very short chapter, and the language is kinda awkward in parts because I didn't really know how to make it flow and all that… but it's still good.

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Scar was walking to his home when he heard voices nearby. He stopped and listened for a while.

"Hey, hey, wait. We've been at war for years. Why are they just now deciding to go to such extremes?"

"You heard about it, right? Those guys who actually tried to kill some Amestrian kids."

"No, I didn't hear about it. Why did they do that?"

"From what I heard, it was supposed to only be an attack on the station, but I guess those guys got caught before they could do their job and they decided to take a hostage. Then two of the kid's friends showed up and one of the guys got pissed at one of the kids and pulled a gun on him. Before he could shoot, he was gunned down by one of his buddies."

"So that's what happened? Damn, no wonder the military's going crazy. Those morons. Not only did they make our lives harder, but there's three kids who are gonna end up hating Ishbalans for the rest of their lives."

"And I hear the one kid's parents are doctors nearby. How ironic. The parents are helping us while we're terrorizing their children."

"I'd say it's only fair because of the child they killed that started this war, but I've heard a lot about those doctors."

He'd heard enough. He continued walking through the war-torn town where he'd grown up, thinking about what he'd heard. He shook his head after a while and continued on his way.

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Time passed, and the attacks began to come closer and closer to Scar's home. Everything went to hell when the Crimson Alchemist showed up.

Sara Rockbell, ignoring the warnings of other doctors in the area, had made her way through Ishbal in secret, making her way to the hospital where she had left her husband. As she made her way over, she heard a large explosion and covered her head for a moment. When she looked up, she saw that a huge part of the region had been obliterated. She continued to make her way through the area, only stopping to help a child whose leg had been cut lengthwise.

Before she had finished, another explosion went off, sending debris everywhere. She covered the child with her body, but there was nothing to protect her.

Scar woke up in the makeshift hospital and felt rage come over him. As he brought the knife toward the Amestrian's chest, he could hear the man shouting.

"Wait! Don't-"

Scar dropped the knife and watched the man fall to the ground.

"Give her… another reason… to…"

Scar made his way out of the hospital. He still heard the man's voice in his head. "Hate…"

As the Crimson Alchemist made his way to the hospital, he could hear a woman sobbing. He walked inside and saw two Amestrians on the ground. One was dead. The other, the sobbing woman, was on the ground, clutching the dead man with all her strength. After a moment, she let go. "I'm sorry," she muttered, and became still. A quick check showed that she was dead.

"So she came back just to die like this," Kimbley said as he pulled a picture from the man's pocket. "How ironic."


	3. Chapter 3

Ah, yes, this chapter's a bit longer than the first two, and it's a two-part chapter, so yeah… Next part will be up in a couple of days.

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It was a sunny day in Resembool as Lt. Colonel Roy Mustang knocked on the door of the Elric home. He knocked for a minute, but nobody answered. He decided to go inside, his subordinate Riza Hawkeye following him silently.

They split up and began searching the house for the boys. Roy entered a room and saw a desk against one of the walls. A small boy was sleeping in the chair, his head in his arms. The desk was covered in papers, many of which had transmutation circles drawn on them. Roy looked at the papers for a moment, trying to figure out what the boy was working on. He didn't get to understand anything, because at that moment the boy woke up with a start, saw Roy, and fell out of his chair.

"Who are you?" he asked, a slight look of panic in his eyes. Roy kneeled down so that he was at the boy's eye level.

"Ah, sorry for startling you. I'm Lt. Colonel Roy Mustang from East City. Are you Edward or Alphonse?"

"Edward. What are you doing here?"

"I came to talk to you-"

"But why did you just come in here like that?" Edward sounded angry. He stood up, and Roy did as well, just as a voice sounded in the hall.

"What's going on, brother? Is someone else here?" A sandy haired boy asked as he entered the room. He looked half awake. Riza came in right behind him and looked at Ed.

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After a moment, Roy managed to explain the situation to the brothers, and they sat down to listen to what Roy had to say.

"So what is it you want to ask us?" Ed asked.

"It might be a bit early for you two, but would you want to take the state alchemy exam?" Roy asked, examining the boys' faces.

He had expected them to think about it for a moment, but right after he asked, Ed gave his answer. "No. Our teacher would kill us if we did that."

"It's not that bad-" Roy began.

"No, she seriously would not be happy," Al interrupted with a shudder. "And I'd like to make it to adulthood, at least."

"Okay…" Roy decided it was time for a subject change. "So what are you working on?" he asked casually, indicating Ed's desk.

"Nothing interesting," the two said at once. They said it so rapidly that Roy became suspicious.

"Is that so?" he asked. "Would you mind if I looked?"

"Yes."

"Wait, if it isn't anything interesting, then why can't I see?"

"You just can't. It's not something we want to share."

Roy's eyes narrowed. "You're not doing anything illegal, are you?"

"Will you mind your own business?!" Ed shouted as he stood up.

"Brother…"

"If you're doing something illegal with alchemy then I can't just ignore it!" Roy shot back, standing up as well.

"Sir…"

Ed glared at Roy for several minutes before turning to the door. "Come on, Al, we're going."

"What? But brother-"

"I'm not talking to this guy anymore."

Roy walked toward Ed. "Now wait a minute. You can't just-"

Before Roy finished his sentence, Ed kicked him in the shin and took off running. Roy recovered remarkably quickly and began to chase after him. Al just smacked his forehead and shook his head. He looked over at Hawkeye.

"Sorry about brother. He's a little…"

"No need for that. The Lt. Colonel's about the same." Riza looked down at Al. "Now, what exactly are you two up to?" she asked.

Al turned his face away from her. "Will we get in trouble?" he asked after a moment.

"Not if you haven't done anything yet," Riza replied.

Al breathed deeply and looked back out the door. "We're… trying to get someone back."

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Roy chased Ed down the road for several minutes, until he finally caught up to the child and managed to tackle him. Ed struggled to get away from Roy, who had a firm grip on both his hands.

"Let go, you jerk!" Ed shouted.

"No. Not until you calm down."

At that moment, one of the local kids passed by and looked at Ed. "Hey, Ed. Having fun?" the kid laughed. He politely greeted Roy and continued on his way. Roy watched the kid in confusion for a moment. Ed used this distraction to kick Roy in the stomach and run off.

As soon as Roy recovered, he ran after Ed. He chased the boy to a cemetery, where he found Al and Riza standing at the entrance. Both of them were watching Ed, who was sitting in front of a grave, staring at it with little regard for the people staring at him. Roy looked at Al, whose face contained the same emotions as his brother's. The only emotion missing was anger.

"So. This is what you want to do. Whose grave is that?" Roy asked Al.

"It's… our mother," Al replied, his voice barely louder than a whisper.

At that moment, Roy understood exactly why Ed had acted the way he did. He only wanted a normal family. Roy remembered their guide mentioning that the boys were orphans, but it hadn't quite sunk in that it would have affected them this much. He walked forward and stood behind Ed. It took him a moment to realize that there was only one grave.

"What about your father?" he asked cautiously, not wanting to fight Ed again.

"He ditched us."

Considering how bluntly Ed had said it, Roy decided it would be best not to push the issue. Instead, he decided to deal with the other issue at hand.

"Who takes care of you now?"

"Why do you want to know?" Ed asked. Al just pointed at a building in the distance. "Al!"

Al completely ignored his brother for a while as he elaborated. "Pinako Rockbell's our guardian now. She's our friend's grandmother."

"Thank you, Alphonse," Roy said as he walked off. Ed followed them, fuming.

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There was a knock on the door. Pinako opened it to see a young man from the military standing on the other side of it. Just behind him was a woman, also wearing a uniform, standing next to the Elric brothers. The man nodded politely to Pinako.

"Mrs. Rockbell, my name is Roy Mustang. May I speak to you for a moment?"

Pinako looked back at the boys, neither of whom looked happy. "Yes, of course." She opened the door wider and let Roy in. Then she turned to Winry, who was watching from the stairway. "Winry, would you go upstairs for a while?"

Winry looked at Roy for another moment before walking up the stairs. Once she was in her room, she went onto the balcony and looked down. Ed and Al were sitting with a woman from the military. She tried to get Ed's attention, but he waved her off and looked away.

"Hey! Don't just ignore me like that!" Winry shouted. "What are you doing?"

"It's none of your business, Winry!" Ed shouted back.

Winry bit her lip and leaned down. She pulled off one of her shoes and threw it. It nailed Ed in the head and he grabbed his head and looked up. "What was that for?" he asked, but Winry had gone inside. Ed looked back out at the fields, rubbing his head.

Meanwhile, Pinako sat down at the table across from Roy. "What's this all about? What did they do?"

Roy shook his head. "Nothing as of yet, but it seems they've been planning an attempt at human transmutation."

"Those two? How do you know?"

"Alphonse has admitted to it, and the alchemy they've been studying points to human transmutation."

"And since human transmutation is illegal, you want to have them arrested?"

"Not at all, Mrs. Rockbell. After all, they haven't made anything yet."

Pinako stood up. "Do you think that because you've exposed their secret they won't try it now? Those boys are very stubborn."

"I was afraid of that. I can understand that sort of stubbornness. I would just like to suggest something."

"What?"

"I know of someone, someone in East City who has attempted human transmutation. If I took those boys to meet him, and they saw the results of such a venture, they would give up."

"And if they don't?"

"That man is in a very poor condition. If they continue to believe they can succeed, even after meeting him, then nothing will convince them."

Pinako thought about it for a long time. "You won't bring this up with anyone else in the military?"

"Not if I don't have a very good reason."

"All right. Take them to meet this person."

Roy stood up. "I'll bring them back within a week."

As they got ready to leave Resembool, Pinako said one last thing to Roy. "Good luck."

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Within five minutes of getting to Resembool station, Ed took off running. Roy went after him, but Ed didn't get far. One of the locals seemed to understand the basic situation and brought him back to Roy. Ed sat on the bench with his arms crossed.

"Nice try, but you're coming with us whether you like it or not," Roy said as they got on the train.

Ed tried to run away on the train. He took off running through the cars, and Roy barely caught him before Ed tried to jump off the back of the train. He literally carried Ed back to their seats and sat him down.

"Why are you being so difficult?" he asked.

"I don't like you," Ed shot back.

"Why not?"

"Why do you think? The only reason we started studying alchemy in the first place was to do one thing, and now you're saying we can't do it. Everything we've been working towards, everything we've hoped for…"

"That's because you're trying to do something that's not only against the law, but impossible to do."

"How do you know it's impossible? Because some guy you know in East City messed up? How is that guy like us?"

"Like you? He tried to do something impossible. He thought his theory was perfect, and he tried it, but he was wrong."

"So how do you know it'll be like that for us?"

Roy paused. It seemed as if his argument was getting him nowhere. Ed sensed this and began staring out the window. After a while, he spoke again. "Do you have any idea what it's like to have everything you believe in taken and destroyed?"

Roy thought back on his life, especially his experiences in Ishbal. "Yes, I know what it's like. I know it probably better than you."

Ed turned to Roy. "Then why are you doing it to us?" he asked, but Roy simply stood up and walked down the car and went into the next one. Ed looked at Riza. "What's with him?" he asked.

"It's a long story."

Ed went back to staring out the window. "I'm never joining the military."

"Nobody said you had to, Edward."

"Good, because I mean it. They've never done anything for us."

"Brother…"

"It's true, though, isn't it, Al? Even back then-"

"Brother, don't talk about that."

The rest of the train ride was quiet. Quiet enough for the only other passenger in the car to deem a song necessary to break the silence.

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Ed ran off again as they left the East City station. Roy took off after him and managed to bring him back, but he'd gotten sick of chasing the young alchemist. He stopped by a phone booth, holding Ed by the shirt in one hand and the phone in the other.

"Havoc here," came a voice from the other end.

"Havoc, it's Mustang. Can you help me out with something?"

"Sure, what do you need?"

"Just drive over here. We're at the train station. Oh, and bring some rope."

As Havoc arrived, he was surprised to see Roy holding a struggling eleven-year-old boy by the arms. Roy gave Havoc orders to secure Ed before turning to Al. "Could you maybe talk to your brother and get him to stop being so wild?"

Al looked Roy straight in the eyes. "No."

"Why not?"

"Because I agree with him. I don't want to be here either. Besides, with the way things are going, he wouldn't listen to me anyway."

"Then are you going to try and run off?" Roy asked in exasperation.

"No. It's more fun just watching brother."

"Fine. Get in the car."

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They brought the brothers to a hotel and sent them into their room for a moment. Havoc walked right behind Ed, holding onto the rope that was tied around Ed's chest. Ed fell back on his bed and stared at the ceiling.

"This is stupid," he said to no one in particular.

Havoc pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and lit one. "Well maybe you shouldn't have tried running away."

"I wasn't trying to run away."

"Then why did you?"

"Just to piss that guy off. I'm not stupid enough to run off in a city I barely know."

Havoc chuckled. "Well, you should have expected something like this."

Ed poked at the ropes that were holding him. "What if I promise not to run off again?"

"You'll have to ask Mustang. I'm just here to give him a break."

At that moment, the door opened, and Roy walked into the room. "Thanks, Havoc. You may go now."

Havoc saluted and left the room, letting the rope trail on the floor. Ed sat up and glared at Roy. Roy walked up to him and began untying him. "You realize that trying to run off again would be a very bad idea, don't you?"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Ed replied as he pulled his legs up onto the bed and sat cross-legged.

"Good. Hawkeye's going to get dinner. If there's something you'll never eat no matter how much we try to force it on you, then tell me. Otherwise you're stuck with whatever we give you."

"Milk."

"Fine. No milk. Anything else?"

"Nah, we're good."

"Good. I'll be right outside, so if you try anything, I'll know."

"Okay, okay, I get it. We won't try anything. Jeez, you're acting like I don't know anything."

Roy took the rope and left the room, listening at the door for a while. What he heard was almost what he had expected, but something unexpected came up.

"Brother, are you okay?"

"No, Al, I'm not. First that guy comes and freaks out at us for wanting to bring mom back, and then he freaking takes us here and locks us in a hotel room. He's probably trying to spy on us right now, too."

"Brother, you're being paranoid."

"Am I, Al?" Ed sighed. "Damn it, if it weren't for that incident, we could have brought mom back before that guy showed up."

_That incident? Is he talking about…_ Despite himself, Roy opened the door and looked at the two boys. "I'd like to know something," he asked Ed.

"What now?"

"Were you the boys involved in that hostage incident in your hometown?"

Ed stood up. "What the hell are you bringing that up for? Don't you think you've done enough to us already?"

"Answer the question."

"Yeah, that was us, okay? We tried to help our friend and instead I almost got killed and we had to see someone die because of us! And what did the military do? They just sat around outside and did nothing. They didn't even try to save us until they heard the gunshot."

Ed turned his face away and covered his eyes with his arm. Roy took a step back and headed for the door. "I'm sorry you had to go through that. Believe it or not, that's something I want to change." When he closed the door, he could tell Ed was crying.

_Damn it, why did I have to say anything?_ Roy thought as he stood by the door. Things definitely weren't going well for him, or the brothers. He sighed._ I should have let the Rockbells take care of this. At least they know how to deal with these two._


	4. Chapter 4

As Riza returned with some food, she noticed that Roy seemed to be fuming. She stopped to talk to him before going into the boys' room.

"What happened this time?"

"I'm an idiot," Roy replied. "I really don't know how to deal with those two."

Riza looked at the door for a moment. "What did you do this time?"

"Those two, along with that girl, are the ones who were taken hostage in Resembool."

"You asked them about it?"

Roy nodded.

"You really are an idiot, sir."

"I know."

Riza pulled out her gun and handed it to Roy. "Let me talk to them. I might be able to sort things out, and if not, it'll at least be better for them to talk to someone other than you."

Roy gave an embarrassed smile and handed Riza the room key. Riza quietly entered the room and shut the door. She put the food on the table and stood watching the two for a moment. Al was sitting on his bed, his hands on his knees, and Ed was lying on his, facing the wall. Neither said a word or even acknowledged her presence.

"I'm sorry," she said, waiting for a reaction.

"For what?" Al asked.

"We should have realized earlier that you two were the ones involved in that incident. The Lt. Colonel feels ashamed that he brought it up."

There was no response. Riza decided to continue. "I would also like to apologize for the way we've handled this situation. Neither of you are in trouble. We just want to help you realize that you were about to make a big mistake."

"By dragging us out here and making us go meet some guy we don't even know?" Ed asked, still facing the wall.

"Mustang thinks it would be best for you to see exactly what you're getting yourselves into."

"Then why is he treating us like this?"

Riza sighed. "Because sometimes he lacks common sense."

At this, Ed turned over to face Riza. "Yeah, that's what I thought."

Riza sat down on the couch. "About what you asked on the train, the Lt. Colonel has been through a lot. He was a soldier in Ishbal. During the war, he was forced to kill a lot of innocent people, as was I. The main thought in just about everybody's mind at the time was, 'why are we killing people when soldiers are supposed to protect?' We all thought that protecting this country meant something other than killing innocent civilians."

"What does that have to do with what I asked?" Ed asked.

"We understand that you're disappointed, but both of us would rather have you hate us for destroying your beliefs than for you to fail and have them be destroyed that way."

"But… we wouldn't have failed."

Riza stood up. "You'll see what I mean tomorrow."

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After they ate, Ed and Al sat around and thought about what Riza had said. After a while, Ed got sick of the silence. "You don't think we wouldn't have been able to do it, do you, Al?"

"No. Your theory's perfect, brother."

"Then why are we letting them tell us we're wrong?"

"Yeah, we've been studying alchemy since we were little, so why don't they think we know what we're doing?"

"I bet it's because they're in the military. They don't want kids doing whatever they want unless it's for their benefit."

"You really think they're trying to get us to work for the military?" Al asked.

"I don't know, Al. I just want to go home. In fact," Ed said as he sat up. "Let's do just that. We can transmute something that looks like us and leave tonight."

"Brother, didn't you say you weren't going to run away any more?"

"This is different, Al. I have money for the ride home, and we can bring Mom back and prove them wrong. We're so close, we can't just quit now."

"But… why can't we just wait until after this trip to do it?"

"Are you kidding? They'll make sure we won't be able to do it then."

Al thought about it for a while. "Okay, let's do it."

Ed went through his suitcase and found suitable materials for the transmutation as Al kept watch. He arranged them on a circle and waited for a moment before transmuting two semi-realistic dummies. He gave one to Al and they hid them under their beds until it was time for them to go to bed. Once Riza had turned off the light, the two pulled out the dummies and arranged them on their beds, finishing just as there was a knock on the door. Not knowing what else to do, the boys hid under their beds and waited impatiently for Roy to leave the room. Once he did, the two breathed sighs of relief and crawled out from underneath the beds.

Ed opened the window and looked down. They were on the third story, but there were ledges underneath the windows, and Ed thought they could easily climb down. They managed to get to the ground, and quietly ran through the streets of East City until they came to the train station. Ed was grateful that he had paid so much attention on the ride over.

To their joy, there was one final train going toward Resembool that night. They got tickets and boarded the train just as it was leaving. One of the train workers questioned them as they sat down, but Ed managed to convince the man that they weren't doing anything wrong, and the man left them alone.

They stared out the window and hoped that Roy and Riza wouldn't find out about them leaving, at least until morning. Then Ed realized that it didn't matter if there weren't any more trains going in that direction. He smiled as he thought about the Lt. Colonel, sitting and waiting for a train because of them.

After a while, he yawned and his eyes began to close. Before he knew it, he and his brother were both sound asleep, leaning on each other in the empty train.

----------------------

"Hey. Hey, wake up."

Ed opened his eyes and looked around. Someone was standing over him. Ed recognized him as the worker he had met earlier. "What is it?" Ed asked, rubbing his eyes.

"We're almost to Resembool. That's where you're getting off, isn't it?"

"Oh, yeah, thanks."

Ed shook his brother awake as the train began to slow down. They walked quickly through the station, trying not to draw the attention of anyone who was working there. Their attempts were fruitless. Someone called out to them and Ed unwillingly turned around to face her.

"What are you doing back so soon? I thought you'd be gone for a few days."

"Ah, yeah, something came up with the military, and…"

"Mr. Mustang had to do some things, so he sent us back home," Al finished. Then he decided to add something to prevent problems later. "He'll probably come back in a day or two."

The woman nodded. "That makes sense. I'll see you two later."

The sun was rising as they made their way home.

------------------

Roy woke up late that morning. He pulled on his clothes and stumbled wearily down the hall, where Riza was waiting for him.

"Are you ready, sir?" she asked, gesturing to the Elrics' room.

"No, but then again, I don't think I'll ever be." He opened the door and walked inside. To his surprise, the boys were still in their beds, in the same positions as they had been the night before. He walked up to Ed and shook him by the shoulder. It took him a moment to realize that this Ed wasn't exactly human.

He stared in shock at the dummy and went over to the other bed. Sure enough, Ed and Al had disappeared. He checked all over the room before admitting they had run off.

"Shit, where did they go?" he muttered to himself. Riza watched him with concern.

"Considering the circumstances, it would be best if we went to the train station," she said.

"Ah, of course. They're probably trying to get home. When I find those two-"

"Let's hope we find them in time," Riza interrupted. That made Roy panic a bit.

"Come on, we're going."

They drove through the city in a hurry, parked near the train station and asked around about the Elric brothers. One person knew exactly whom Roy was talking about.

"Oh, those two? They boarded a train for Resembool last night. I heard them say something about proving a point."

"I knew it," Roy muttered as they got on a train.

-----------------

When the train arrived at Resembool, Roy walked briskly through the town towards the house in the distance. Night had fallen, and rain was falling all around them. As they got closer to the house, Roy broke out into a run. He got to the house, wrenched open the door, and saw something that was startling, to say the least.

Right in front of him was a large suit of armor, holding Ed in its arms. Ed was bleeding profusely, and it took a moment for it to sink in that the boy's arm and leg were missing.

"What did you do?"

The armor looked away, in the same manner Alphonse had several times since they had first met. "Sorry." The voice definitely belonged to Al.

Roy wanted to scream at the boys, to smack Ed across the face and tell him "I told you so," but he couldn't. The grief in Al's voice and the pain in Ed's face were too much. He pulled off his coat and tied it around Ed's small body in an effort to help stop the bleeding. "Just get him someplace where he can get help. We'll talk about this later."

Al nodded and walked outside in the rain, clutching his older brother tightly. Roy signaled to Riza to follow them and he went on a search of the house, not knowing just what he was looking for. When he found the disfigured corpse in the middle of a transmutation circle, he was startled to realize he wasn't shocked. He simply left the building and went to the Rockbell home. Somehow, he knew exactly what he'd find.

----------------

Roy and Pinako sat in the kitchen. Winry was taking care of Ed, and Riza was sitting with Al. After a while, Roy spoke.

"I'm sorry."

"You think this is your fault?" Pinako asked. "I told you that those two were stubborn."

"Even so, I should have paid more attention."

"You tried. That's all that matters now. You tried to help them."

It was silent for a while. Eventually, Pinako stood up. "It's late. Do you have a place to stay?"

"Ah, yes, we're staying at a small hotel in the town."

"I see. Did you look in their house?"

"Yes. They didn't succeed in any way."

Pinako stood up. "I guess I'll just have to see what they did."

Roy decided to accompany Pinako to the empty house and watched as she looked at the thing Ed and Al had created. The room was quiet for several minutes. Roy could tell that Pinako was shaking. Finally, she spoke.

"We should bury it."

"Of course," Roy muttered. He helped Pinako bring the body out and they dug a hole behind the house. Once the job was done, they walked back down the road.

Winry was exhausted. She had been sitting up with Ed all night, taking care of his incomplete body and listening to his apologies. When she asked him whom he was talking to, he mumbled something and passed out. Winry checked his vital signs again and left the room. The sun was about to rise.

Al was sitting in the hallway. Winry talked to him for a while before the need for sleep got the best of her and she went to bed.

---------------

Roy came back to the Rockbell home a day later to see how things were going. He realized that his job didn't require him to show up, but he felt it was necessary. He knocked on the door and Winry let him in. She seemed to know exactly why he was here, because she pointed up the stairs and said, "Ed's up there."

Roy thanked her and went up the stairs. Riza stayed downstairs with Winry.

Ed was awake when Roy entered his room. Roy walked up to the bed and sat beside it. Ed looked at him for a moment with his golden eyes.

"Sorry. We should have listened to you."

Roy didn't know what to say. He wanted to lecture the boy, but seeing him in such a sad state told him Ed didn't need to be lectured. At least, not about human transmutation.

"You should have. And I should have realized just how stubborn you are."

"So what now? Are we in trouble?"

"You're injured. Worry about yourself first."

Ed tried to sit up. "I can't. Not when Al's like that."

Roy gently pushed Ed down. "You can't do anything for him when you're in this state."

"But what can I do? Even when I can move?"

"I honestly don't know. The only thing I can suggest is something you said you'd never want to do."

"I don't care about what I said before. Al's too important to me for me to care."

Roy looked down at Ed. "If… you worked as a state alchemist, you could maybe find a way to help him. You'd have a lot of opportunities and money for research, but you'd be bound to the military."

"You're bringing that up again?" Ed asked, a slight hint of anger in his voice.

"I told you it wasn't something you'd want to do. Listen, I'm not going to make you do anything you don't want to do. I'm just telling you the only way I can think of for you to help your brother."

There was a long silence. Then Ed spoke again. "Back then, at the hotel, what did you mean when you said you were trying to change things?"

Roy smiled. "I meant what I said. I don't like how this country is being run, and I want to change it."

"Is that why you're in the military?"

"Yes."

Ed thought about it for a while. "If I joined, would I be able to help people too?"

"I would make sure you would have a chance to." Roy stood up. "But like I said before, it's your choice. Don't do it if you don't want to. And," he continued, looking at Al, who had been listening at the door. "Don't push yourselves too hard. I don't want to see you get hurt any more."

He gave Al some papers, walked out of the room and gestured to Riza that they were leaving. As they left, he could tell that he would be seeing the brothers again.

---------------

One more chapter and it's done!


	5. Chapter 5

Yeah, I don't know how I feel about this chapter, but oh well. Let me know what you think. This is the end of the story.

-------------------

"Brother, wake up."

"Mmmph, go away, Al."

"Brother, get up."

"I said go away."

"Quit being a baby and get up!" Al yanked the pillow from underneath Ed's head and smacked him in the face with it. Ed sat up and tried to tackle his younger brother, but instead he tripped over his blankets and fell to the ground.

"Al!"

"Sorry, brother, but we're supposed to report to the Colonel, remember?"

Ed sat up and rubbed his head for a moment. "Oh yeah. How much time do we have?"

"Not much, since you wouldn't wake up sooner."

"Agh, I hate this," Ed muttered as he stumbled to the bathroom. Al pulled out some clothes for his brother and handed them to Ed through the door.

"Well, he needs to know about this, doesn't he?"

"Yeah, but I don't see why he needs to pick such early meeting times."

"Brother, it's 9:30. That's not so early."

"It is when we didn't get in till midnight and had to spend two hours finding a hotel that wasn't full."

"Just get dressed, brother. It won't be so bad."

Ed finished getting ready and walked out of the bathroom as he put his hair in a braid. "Okay, I'm ready. I can just eat on the way."

"I picked up some breakfast for you already, brother," Al said as he handed Ed a bag.

"Oh, thanks, Al."

They walked through East City to headquarters and made their way to Roy's office. Ed knocked on the door, suppressing a yawn as it opened. Riza quietly greeted the two and closed the door behind them as Ed made his way to the Colonel's desk. The Colonel was asleep.

Ed turned to Riza with a question on his face. Riza just shook her head. "Go ahead and wake him up. He was up half the night dealing with an issue he'll probably tell you about."

As Riza left the room, Ed looked at Roy for a moment. Then he picked up a heavy book that was lying on Roy's desk. He looked at the title for a moment before slamming it on the desk. Roy started and sat up in a hurry, looking around the room for a moment before resting his eyes on Ed.

"Did I ask for a wake-up call, Fullmetal?"

"How do you expect me to make a report if you're asleep?" Ed shot back. "Besides, if you make me get up early, then you should at least be awake too."

"Having you come here at ten in the morning isn't what most people would call early, Fullmetal."

"I don't care. It's early for me. Now do you want me to report or not?"

"Go right ahead. I'm wide awake now."

"Good." Ed handed Roy some papers and sat down. As Roy looked through them, Ed began talking. "It was another false report, but we did find something that you should find interesting."

"And what would that be?"

"Apparently there's a group of Ishbalans hiding out somewhere near that town. They've been living in the wilderness in poor conditions and several of the children are sick."

"Have they been doing anything to the town?"

"No, but some of the townspeople have been trying to help them out. The rest just want them out of there."

"Did you meet up with them?"

"Yeah, but they panicked when they found out about my rank. They thought I was going to turn them in."

"Did you tell them they could get help if the came with you?"

"Yeah, but they said they'd rather die out there than be treated like prisoners."

Roy stood up. "Thank you for reporting this, Fullmetal. I'll send some of my subordinates to deal with this."

Ed paused for a moment. "You aren't going to bring them in, are you?"

"No, I'm going to help them build a small place where they can live in peace and get someone to take a look at their children."

Ed smiled. "Still trying to make this country a better place, eh?"

"Wipe that grin off your face. I have a mission for you."

Ed groaned. "Already?"

"Yes. It seems that in the east, there is a minister who has the ability to perform miracles. It sounds fishy to me, so I want you to go check this man out."

"Why me?"

"Because you might find something helpful there."

Ed raised an eyebrow. "Think so?"

Roy shrugged. "There's always a chance."

"Fine. I guess I'll check it out."

----------------

That mission sent Ed on a path that he hadn't been expecting, but it gave him hope. After meeting his father, he returned to Central with new information, and gained some information as well.

"No way, Scar's the one who killed Winry's parents?"

"I'm pretty sure."

They came up with a plan with the help of Ling and Ran Fan. After a while, Scar revealed himself, and they even got help from Roy and Riza. Then, events took an unexpected turn when Winry showed up on the scene, just as Ed asked Scar about her parents.

-----------------

"_How ironic. The parents are helping us while we're terrorizing their children."_

_----------------_

"_Wait! Don't-"_

_Scar dropped the knife and watched the man fall to the ground._

"_Give her… another reason… to…"_

_Scar made his way out of the hospital. He still heard the man's voice in his head. "Hate…"_

_---------------_

Scar stared at the girl who had a gun pointed at him. It was at that moment that everything connected.

"So, you're the one. The one whose parents helped my people even after what those people did to you. You do have a right to shoot me, but the moment you do, I'll see you as an enemy." He looked at Ed before the alchemist had a chance to talk. "Is this why you joined the military? Because you hate my people for what we've done to your friend?"

"What the hell are you talking about? My reasons have nothing to do with you or even those people who tried to kill us!" Ed looked at Winry. "That may be part of it, but in reality, it's something completely different."

Scar looked at Winry as well. The gun was still pointed at his head. His next words were directed to her. "I'm sorry, but that's how it is." Scar made another move to attack Ed, but before anyone realized it, Ed had gotten in front of Winry and grabbed the hand with the gun in it.

------------------

As Ed and Al walked away from the train station, they saw Roy waiting for them in a car. He quickly explained the situation to them and they made their way to Dr. Knox's house.

As they waited for him to get home, Roy noticed that the two seemed more serious than usual. "Something wrong?"

Ed shook his head. "Not really, just… fighting Scar brought up some bad memories. For all three of us."

"Ah, yes, Winry found her way to where you were, didn't she?"

"Right. And she…"

"What happened?"

Ed and Al exchanged glances. "You remember when we mentioned her parents?"

"Yes, they died in Ishbal while treating injured Ishbalans."

"Yeah, well, one of the people they treated repaid them in the worst way possible, if you know what I'm saying."

"Wait a minute. You're saying that they were killed by Scar?"

Ed nodded. "Even though he'd heard about… that incident, and that Winry's parents were helping Ishbalans, he still went ahead and killed them."

Roy fidgeted and looked at the sky. "That's war, Fullmetal. I'm sorry."


End file.
